Who the Missouri cottage food law covers
Missouri calls you a "cottage food production operation": an individual working out of their own home. The home is a primary residence with a kitchen and appliances designed for common residential use.
The person who made the food sells it, or a household member who knows the product well. That way someone can answer a customer's questions about ingredients and how it was made.
Which foods you can sell
The Missouri list is short and strict. If a food is not on it, the cottage food exemption does not cover it.
- Cookies
- Cakes
- Breads
- Danish
- Donuts
- Pastries
- Pies
- Canned jams
- Canned jellies
- Dried herbs
- Dried herb mixes
Baked goods are items prepared by baking in an oven, and never a potentially hazardous food. "No sugar added", "sugar free" and hot pepper jams and jellies are excluded, because a different sugar content can change their pH or water activity. Meringue and cream pies need an inspected facility.
These foods can't be sold under the Missouri cottage food law:
- Cut produce, and baked goods garnished with fresh fruit
- Freeze-dried foods
- Salsa, pickles and sauces like BBQ sauce or hot sauce
- Sprouts and wild mushrooms
- Meat, dairy and eggs
- Pet foods and treats
- Marijuana-infused products
Where and how you can sell
The law describes food produced for sale at your home and sold only directly to consumers. Missouri's health department guidance adds what that means in practice:
| Way of selling | Allowed? |
|---|---|
| Direct to consumers | Yes |
| Online orders | Yes, if you and the buyer are both in Missouri |
| Wholesale to stores or other businesses | No, that needs the DHSS Manufactured Food program |
| Customers in other states | No |
| Selling through someone outside your household | No |
Permits, fees and inspection
There is no food permit or license for a Missouri cottage food production operation, no fee and no routine inspection. Your local health department may not regulate the production of food at your home. It does keep a record of any complaint about your operation, and the state and local health departments can still investigate a foodborne illness outbreak.
The law asks for no training course. Food safety still matters: the health department's guidance walks through allergen cross-contact, cleaning and the temperature danger zone of 41°F to 135°F.
Other low-risk foods: the food code exemption
Some low-risk foods outside the cottage food list may still be sold from an individual stand without inspection, under an exemption in the Missouri Food Code. It only applies where your local health agency allows it. Examples from DHSS:
Under this exemption, the label carries the same items as cottage food, and a clearly visible placard at the stand says the food was prepared in a kitchen not subject to inspection by DHSS. Freeze-dried candy may fit here too, if your local health agency agrees.
When you outgrow the Missouri cottage food law
Selling to shops, shipping out of state or adding foods like salsa means an inspected kitchen: your local public health agency for retail, and the DHSS Manufactured Food program for wholesale. Federal labeling then applies in full, often with a Nutrition Facts panel.
Nutrition Facts Label Requirements →